Within You
by Bullet.In.A.Heart
Summary: 10 years after Sarah left the Labyrinth and severed all ties, she finds herself back there, for reasons unknown. Jareth is nursing a broken heart even after all this time.. JarethxSarah
1. Memories

**Summary: **Ten years after Sarah had her adventure in the Labyrinth, she is on her way to becoming a writer. The Labyrinth is a thing of the past which causes most of her nightmares. She questions whether the place really existed or whether it was just a dream. She severs off all ties to that world, by covering her vanity mirror, forgetting about her friends and not saying HIS name. Meanwhile, Jareth is still angry that a mortal girl could beat his Labyrinth… but more than anything, he's nursing a broken heart. But, somehow, Sarah ends back up in the Labyrinth. Coincidence or just destiny? JarethXSarah.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE LABYRINTH OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO JIM HENSON (R.I.P). I DO NOT HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH ANY OF THE COMPANIES THAT HELPED TO BRING LABYRINTH TO FILM, AND I AM CERTAINLY NOT GETTING PAID FOR THIS. AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO OWN ANY SONG IN THIS FAN FIC, I DO NOT. THE SONG REFERENCED IN THIS CHAPTER IS DAVID BOWIE'S.  
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_Just let me rule you and I can give you everything._

He marched towards his throne, kicking sniffling goblins as he passed. He took his usual position on his throne; one leg over the arm of the throne, the other touching the floor. Jareth, King of the Goblins, ruler of the Underground for over a thousand years.

_Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave._

He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. The same words swirling around his head; as they had done for ten human years. His riding crop in hand, he whipped a passing goblin which shrieked in shock. He smirked at what he had just done.

_You have no power over me._

She was the stuff that nightmares were made up of. He was certain of it. His smile faltered and a low, rough growl erupted from his lips. One girl had beaten his Labyrinth and that one girl made him fall in love for the first time… and shattered his heart without a goodbye. He'd poured his heart out to her, only for her to ignore him and concentrate on her lines. Her words echoed in his head. He'd offered her _everything: _immortality, his kingdom, her dreams, himself, his _love_. But… it just wasn't enough…

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Sarah lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She was thinking about applying for a job at the local paper, in the hopes of kick starting her writing career. She surveyed her room to take her mind off it. Most of her toys had been moved out of her room and into the attic, although some stuffed toys remained. She looked over at her vanity mirror, which was draped with a black silk cloth. She had covered that up after her adventure in the Labyrinth… after her visit from Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus… after that last reflection of Him appeared staring back at her with a look she wasn't sure of. Was it anger? Or was it sadness? She couldn't tell.

But the question that really bugged her was whether it was a dream. She hadn't uncovered the mirror in ten years. If it was a dream, it shouldn't matter; she would be able to uncover it. But that was the thing, she just wasn't sure. She thought paranoia had set in again. This was the first time she had thought about it for several weeks. The nightmares had stopped then, but she was almost certain that they would continue again, and soon.

She looked over at her window, seeing the dark sky contrast against the white of her net curtains and the beige of her curtains. A breeze lifted the net curtains, which immediately caught her attention.

_I don't remember opening the window. I never keep the window open. Not after…_ she thought.

She slowly jumped off her bed, making her way over to the window. But as she lifted up the net curtains, the funny thing was, the window wasn't open. Sarah shook her head and dismissed the incident, blaming a lack of sleep for her hallucination. So she returned to her bed, sitting on the edge with her chin rested in her hands.

But a flash of white caught her eye. Her eyes opened and she lifted her head.

_It couldn't be… No. It wasn't._

Deciding her brain was telling her she was tired, she slowly changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed. As soon as her head graced the pillow, she was sound asleep. But it wasn't a dreamless sleep…

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Jareth stared at the ceiling of his room as he lay in his bed having just abruptly woken up in the early hours of the morning with thoughts of a recent goblin spat that threatened an uprising, or in the least, a pitiful goblin civil war (if civil could be a term applied to goblins). The ceiling was bewitched to look like the night's sky, though not the Labyrinth's sky, the sky in _Her_ world. Shimmering silver stars contrasted against a velvet black sky made Jareth sigh. Everything from Her world seemed to remind him of _Her. _

_Maybe everything in her world is as beautiful as she… No. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. Everything in her world had nothing on her, but still seemed to have a shine, a sparkle that made the Underground look like an extension of the Bog of Eternal Stench. _

For ten years she had haunted his dreams, his chest ached. He constantly thought of her as shattering his heart until it was gone; now there was just a hollow, empty cavern in his chest that ached. He was sure it would cave in if he continued to pine over her. Eventually, he thought, he could no longer live if the cavern caved in, and he would just simply fade away as many other Fae chose to do if they believed they had no purpose for life anymore.

But he was stronger than that; he had his subjects to think about, his city and his Labyrinth. Besides, he enjoyed life too much that he simply wouldn't want to fade away even if he could. She wasn't completely gone, she was still alive. Her heart was still beating, her lungs still breathing so that meant that he could carrying on living, because she was.

She was a complete contradiction. He wanted revenge; he wanted to see her suffer for hurting him, leaving him, destroying his Labyrinth that he had to re-build. On the other hand, he loved her. Granted not from the first time he set eyes on her, he was intrigued by her and her beauty at first meeting, but as soon as he saw her determination, her longing to get her brother back, and that small space of time in the crystal, at the ball…

_There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes,_

_A kind of pale jewel._

_Open and closed, within your eyes, I'll place the sky…_

_Within your eyes._

His eyes immediately opened. He refused to hear that song, any note, and any lyric. He banned that tune from his brain. He often found himself subconsciously humming the tune to himself, still seeing her looking for him – no, _searching_ for _him_ – but then, she remembered her true goal and left him to stare sadly after her.

Jareth snapped from his daze and conjured a crystal. He stared into it, seeing the dawn breaking over the Labyrinth. It glistened with the morning dew but was quickly replaced with the castle's private garden which was alive with colour.

"Ah, the peach trees are beginning to blossom again. Spring is finally here," he softly murmured to himself.

He needed other things to occupy his mind, but as soon as he thought that, his eyelids began to droop, to fall back into a sleep he was so rudely awoken from. But not from a last lingering thought…

_Sarah…__  
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Sarah awoke suddenly. She had dreamt that she was trapped in a bubble. She tried and tried to escape but she couldn't. There were people dressed elegantly in masks staring and laughing at the girl's fruitless attempts to run. Then she saw a figure, a more of a silhouette of a person. She was turned her attentions to finding out who the stranger was. Then he had said her voice.

_Sarah…_

She turned to look at her alarm clock.

_3am? What? It's not f-_

She stopped her track of thought. She hadn't said that in ten years and she wasn't going to start using it again. Her mind flitted towards Toby. She hadn't said goodnight to Toby. He stopped asking for fairy tales when Sarah stopped believing in them, so she had taken up to just tucking him into bed and saying goodnight. But as he reached eleven, it had become a regular thing that she would forget to say goodnight to him. She had said that she was getting too old for the fairy stories, along with her stuffed toys. In actual fact, it was to get rid of any reminders of the Labyrinth.


	2. Dreams

**Disclaimer: As stated in the previous chapter, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE LABYRINTH, I AM NOT GETTING PAID, THIS IS PURELY FAN FICTIONAL. **

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Jareth was pacing the throne room; his mind racing. Yet again he'd dreamed about Sarah. But instead of the usual dream – or in his case, nightmare – this one was different. His dreams tended to consist of those six substantially cruel words she spoke in the Escher room. Those six words broke his heart.

This dream, however, consisted of Sarah gazing into the mirror.

_Jareth, I need you._

She returned to the Labyrinth, she believed again. The power of the Labyrinth called her, stating she belonged there, in his arms, bathing in the magic of the Underground. She came straight to the castle to find him in his office, watching her through his crystal.

_Jareth, I love you. I have always loved you… and always will. You have power over me, as I have power over you._

Then he woke up; his heart attempting to escape from his chest; his brain yielding masses of thoughts. He was thinking of various ways to lure her back, to make her remember. But the most he could think of was if someone wished her away.

But his heart sank. There was no way that would happen. No way would she return to the Labyrinth. No way would she return to him.

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Sarah sat on her bed unable to sleep, drowning in thoughts. She sighed.  
_  
At least I'm awake to prepare for my new job interview…_

Sarah had been stuck in the same dead end job since she left university. Although she used to love books, working in a bookstore was boring. Unable to connect with fiction anymore, she inclined to find herself at the non-fiction side of the store, helping frustrating customers find books on science, politics and history. It wasn't one of the most enlightening jobs, but at least it was money.

After leaving high school at sixteen, she felt disconnected from everyone else her age. She turned to music to make up for the lack of fairy tales in her life. Then she started college, unable to make friends – although people did try, but often ended up disappointed when she couldn't find anything to talk about. She didn't have any passion for anything anymore. Life just went on, regardless anything else. The labyrinth was nothing more than a stupid dream, albeit a dream that had haunted her for so long, or so she had thought, convincing herself it wasn't real. But _He _had to be _real. _He _had _to be…

She had repressed the labyrinth for so long, repressed her feelings about him; his eyes in the ballroom. The way he looked at her, making her feel like she was wanted, cared for, even loved. The way he smirked at her remarks about his labyrinth; surely he must have cared for her.

_But, he could have never loved me. He just did it to stall me, to keep me away from Toby so he could be a goblin. Forever… Even if he did make me feel special for so little time; dreams are like that. They're something you crave, deep within you, but they're never real and hardly ever come true._

Even though he had not visited her, nor spoke to her; that made him not real. That made him a dream.

She sauntered over to her vanity desk and pulled out her CV. Double checking was the most she could hope for at this hour.

**A/N: I churned this out quicker than I thought. Apologies: this is only short as I wasn't intending to bring it out so soon after the first chapter, and I didn't know how to move onto the next part. But I became quickly inspired. I put off my Uni work (which is so close to deadline) to start and complete this chapter. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Dracanna: Thank you so much for adding the story to your favourites! I think you may be the first reader :3 **


	3. Be Careful What You Wish For

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**DISCLAIMER: As stated before in previous chapters, I do not own the Labyrinth or have any affiliation with anyone involved in production and I am certainly not getting paid.**

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"Dearest Jareth, why so sad? You look like a child who's been told to go to bed. I thought me being here would create some happiness in this place," came from a woman so beautiful, surely she couldn't be human. She was dressed in a long, crimson gown with long, loose sleeves. She had waist length golden waves, ivory skin that seemed to glow against her angular features. She had the palest blue eyes that surveyed Jareth as he sulked in his throne. But of course she wasn't human, she was Fae.

Jareth jumped up immediately, slightly staggering from getting up far too fast. "Mother," he replied, still feeling slightly dizzy. "What do I owe this great pleasure?"

The woman frowned at Jareth. She had been alive for thousands of years and Jareth, her eldest, had never had this sort of expression plastered to his face since he was a child. Her last visits had told her all was not right in the Labyrinth, that the King had fallen in love with a girl, a human girl, but she would have thought by now that her scheming son would have won his Queen over. It had been forty years***** since her visit when she had seen her son shut himself off from her, and forty years since she had been told of her son's problems. Of course she's had to bribe several of his goblin subjects to tell her the recent details, so that she knew the troubles had gone deeper. She felt his pain, what he was going through and was sympathetic.

"Jareth, dear Jareth." She sighed. "If you love her, go and get her. I would love for you to be happy again. I would love to see you smile and laugh genuinely. But most of all, I would love to meet my future daughter in law. Please, for my sake, try and win her back." She smiled.

"But mother, she doesn't believe in the Labyrinth anymore. She concluded that she was either dreaming or that she was crazy. She doesn't believe…" Jareth breathed through clamped lips. "In me…" he whispered. The pain seared his heart and became visible upon his face.

"Well, you certainly must love her if you know what she's been up to. Been watching her through your crystals, have you?"

Jareth was just about to retort until she gazed at him, lips apart. She summoned a raindrop, which showed Sarah sat at her vanity desk, chewing on a pen and scratching her head whilst staring down at the paper in front of her.

"Make haste, child. She won't live forever Aboveground. Seek her, bring her back to you." With that, she smiled and disappeared, taking the raindrop that bore Sarah's image with her.

"THERE IS NO WAY TO BRING HER BACK!" He roared, smashing a crystal against the wall. Several sleeping goblins leapt with surprise; they saw the look on their Majesty's face and high tailed it out of the throne room.

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Jareth's mother had disappeared from the throne room, only to reappear on a balcony. She stared into the distance, watching the sunrise. The beauty of the Labyrinth was eternal, shining in the morning, glistening in evening and glowing in the twilight.

_Oh, but there is…_

She smiled to herself and waited.

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Sarah frowned at the clock. She had precisely one hour to go before her interview. Usually, she was able to put up a mask with anything job related; she lacked the people skills she once had as a child and as a teenager. But today was different, today she felt the full nerves of a potential job.

She gathered her CV and went over to her wardrobe.

_Great, now it's time to choose what to wear. Black says, 'I'm professional but can be morbid.' Brown says, 'I'm conservative but weak-minded.' Navy says, 'I like responsibility.' Navy it is._

Although navy blue wasn't one of her favourite colours, it was one that added a sense of professionalism. Made her look smart, and it was a dark colour, dark colours being her personal preference with everything going on with her life. She didn't feel lonely, but she felt alone. She'd not had any real friends since high school, and then she turned cold, numb to them when she was sixteen. There was something missing from her life. Something important, but she didn't know what.

She refused to believe in or think of the Labyrinth. But her mind drifted off there anyway. Hoggle, the cynical dwarf whom she had first met outside of the Labyrinth; he was_ relieving _himself in the stone fountain. Ludo, the biggest teddy bear a girl could wish for, sure he seemed dim-witted, but he wasn't, not really. He had a big heart. Sir Didymus, the noblest knight she had ever met, courageous and loyal, even though he was a bit, well, mad. They were her first _real _friends; ones that she could count on, no matter what she asked. But she hadn't seen them in a long time. She doubt that she ever would.

Then there was Jareth…

_NO! It's not real! Grow up, Sarah._

But her mind continued to flash his image through her brain. The pain she felt was like someone had cut her heart out. But how could she feel like this? She didn't love him, surely. She missed the Labyrinth; that was it.

Without thinking, her hand reached out to her mirror. She felt the silk underneath her finger tips, which grasped and clenched at the cloth. She ripped the material off the mirror.

"I wish I was in the Labyrinth, right now."

With that, her mouth dropped in horror. The room around her dissolved. In front of her stood the Labyrinth, lit up with the orange of the sunrise. She didn't mean to do what she did. It was like something took over her. She looked around for her room, but it was gone. She looked for the unusual thirteen hour clock, but it wasn't there. She slowly turned her head towards the Labyrinth.

"Well, come on feet. It feels like déjà vu all over again. Let's see what this dream will be like this time around."

With that, she set off towards the Labyrinth.

**A/N: *Forty years in the Labyrinth is ten years in the human world – in my mind anyways. Thank you all so much who have put this story on story alert or have placed it in their favourites. It means so much to me, gives me inspiration and lets me know that my first ever story is okay :)**


	4. Thoughts

**Quick A/N: I realised there's a mistake in chapter 1, saying Jareth is ruler of the Underground. It should say a ruler of the Underground. Sorry for the confusion that may incur in later chapters. Also, I originally intended to do it as six years later, but I realised I wanted Toby to be older, so in that same chapter, it may say six instead of ten. **

**You should see the plot for this story! By the looks of it, it may be in a series of volumes…**

**Disclaimer: As stated previously, I do not own the Labyrinth, I am not affiliated with the Labyrinth and I am certainly not getting paid. **

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Jareth's ears were burning. Had he just heard…? He summoned a crystal. "Show me." The crystal sparkled and inside began to ripple with colour. There, he saw Sarah.

"_I wish I was in the Labyrinth, right now."_

Jareth's eyes flashed with thoughts. He absorbed the crystal with a smirk on his face. "GOILIN!" he bellowed. At that instant a goblin, what seemed like a goblin but slightly taller, shot into the throne room. He had brown eyes, a small mouth and was dressed in brown robes; a lot different from the usual goblin attire.

"Yes sire," Goilin bowed.

"Did you hear?"

"About the miss who had recently entered the Labyrinth, of course sire. Do you want me to bring her straight to the castle?"

"NO!" Jareth bellowed.

"I'm sorry you're Majesty, of course, you can transport yourself to the girl and bring her to the castle yourself. Where is my head?"

"Probably with the Fierys, I need you to make sure she gets to the castle. Either on her own or even with that Hogwash (or whatever he's called), that babbling fox and that oversized teddy bear. I need her to come to me on her own terms. Make sure no-one disrupts her path too much." Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes sire." Goilin replied; he bowed and quickly shot from the room as fast as his legs would carry him. He knew that his King wouldn't be in the best of moods with the girl re-entering the grounds. He'd personally seen the torment that his Majesty had been through, and seen a lot of the anger through Jareth's right boot.

As soon as Goilin had gone, Jareth felt relieved, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. _Sarah was back! _But he knew she would not accept him into her life just like that, he had to keep his composure, act aloof. There was always the chance that he could use the persona of the Goblin King (the side to him he used to take children away, he could not be soft when it came to dealing with people who wished children away, those were the rules), but he quickly dismissed the idea as soon as he thought of it. That side to him could be quite cruel; that was his power taking over. Jareth was not one to be messed with when a runner was through the Labyrinth; he reeked of power, a dark purple aura emanated off him, and he terrified his goblin subjects to the point of them fearing of being in the room with him and getting a boot up the backside, and fearing of not being in the room with him which may incur his wrath.

Sarah had only ever really seen him as the Goblin King; she never got to know him as a person – well, not a person in the traditional sense, a Fae person. Every time he was close to being his normal self, Sarah was nowhere near him. Her dream in the ballroom was exactly that, a dream. Jareth felt his heart shrinking when she ran away from him, only to escape her dream and continue into reality. Their final conversation was the last chance Sarah had to see the real Jareth; had she taken her dreams, Jareth would have sent Toby home – he never intended to turn Toby into a goblin, he liked him very much as a human – and made Sarah his Queen, and, Jareth cringed as to how clichéd it sounded, they would live happily ever after.

Jareth stood there, puzzled. He breathed out slowly. He had time. It all depended on how Sarah would use her time. She may choose to solve the Labyrinth, in which case she would be done in about ten hours, give or take a couple if she ever got distracted. But then, if she found the secret passages, he had no more than an hour until she arrived at the castle. What if she chose not to come to the castle at all? Would she avoid trying to find him? Would she just go straight to her friends and miss out the castle completely?

There were just too many questions for Jareth to answer. His mind swirled at the endless possibilities. If only she knew how he felt.

_I would not be feeling any of this heartache, any of this torment, if only she had accepted her dreams when I had offered them. If only she would have loved me. _

**A/N: I apologise for this incredibly short chapter, I wanted to insert some of Jareth's thoughts on what had happened. I also wanted to write this as soon as possible as a massive thank you to all those who have read this story, put it on story alert and even took the time to review it. It means a lot to me. **

**If only there had been a sequel to one of the best heart-wrenching, fantasy induced films that sadly, didn't make much at the box office but grew into one of the most respected and biggest cult followings with the most loyal, lovable, imaginative and creative fans in the world. This is for Jim Henson and all of those women and girls who have a little bit of Sarah in them, and all those guys who have a little bit of Jareth, Hoggle, Ludo or Sir Didymus in them. **

**Thank you all for inspiring me.**


	5. Won't Walk Away, But Won't Look Back

_She won't walk away, but she won't look back...  
- Lady GaGa {Dance In The Dark}_

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Sarah stared at the deserted entrance. No Hoggle, not even any fairies*. She was slightly disappointed at this revelation, but she soon shook her head and told herself off.

_It was a dream, Sarah. Just like this is. You'll wake up in your own bed in the morning. Toby won't get up for school and dad and Karen will be arguing as per usual. _

She stood at the walls of the Labyrinth, last time she was fortunate in the fact that Hoggle was there to help her. No, Hoggle was sent there by the King to make sure she got into the Labyrinth. She looked around for a door, but alas there was none. She tried looking for foot holes in the wall so she could climb up and over, there wasn't any. She sighed. Remembering that words have genuine power, that this place was full of magic and she shouldn't take anything for granted, she cleared her throat.

"Um, excuse me. How do I get into the Labyrinth?" she said timidly. She didn't know what to expect, just that she was thinking she was going crazy and that this was a dream, _her _dream, so she should be able to do what she wants… instead of a dream consisting of her staring at a wall.

For a while there was silence. Sarah's face faltered and immediately deemed herself as stupid. She was annoyed at herself for thinking that she would be able to just get into the Labyrinth; she thought she was taking it for granted that it was a dream. But then a child-like voice spoke:

"Oh my, I never you expected to come back after all this time, Sarah. The Labyrinth has missed you greatly, so have your friends. The Labyrinth nearly gave up all hope after you shut everything and everyone out of your life."

Sarah was startled. She didn't know what to say. Was the Labyrinth talking back to her?

"I'm sorry. This has – had to be a dream. It doesn't matter. I'll wake up soon enough."

"Dearest Sarah, the Labyrinth heard your plea. You wished to be back here; the Labyrinth was overjoyed when we heard. The Labyrinth took your desire and made it happen. Please stay."

"Oh… umm, we?"

"Ah, you do not know our ways. The Labyrinth is made up of various magics bonded together. The Labyrinth is like a family. Although we were separate entities, we are as one. This is not a dream, Sarah. This is your destiny."

Sarah was speechless. She was feeling a wave of calm spread through her body. She wasn't entirely sure that this was not a dream; but the calm was negotiating that this was real.

"Sarah, if you wish to enter, you only have to say so. The Labyrinth really has missed you and shall enjoy seeing what you may achieve here."

"Thank you. May I enter into the Labyrinth?"

The Labyrinth chuckled. "Of course, child."

A great oak door appeared in front of Sarah, not the plain one that she had seen the last time she was here, this one was magnificent. It was carved with various creatures from the Labyrinth. At the bottom, was an intricate carving of the Labyrinth with goblins dancing around in carvings of grass. Just further up from them was the Fierys that she had met last time, with their heads bouncing higher than their bodies. There were other creatures that graced slightly higher than the Fierys, none that she had ever seen, but presumed that they were gnomes, elves and dwarves. There were some creatures that she had only ever read about, or dreamt about; she saw a unicorn, a griffin and a mermaid. These were surrounded with clouds and lakes. Above that were the most beautiful humans Sarah had ever seen, except these were not humans. In fact these were Fae. They were sculpted with perfect angular features, long hair and dressed in traditional, elegant, formal clothing.

_Oh my. This is _beautiful. She thought. She heard a familiar child-like voice in her head begin to speak:

_Why thank you child. We know that you are acquainted with the little creature who carved this for us. _The Labyrinth replied with delight.

Sarah was slightly shocked and startled by the Labyrinth listening and conversing with her thoughts. She smiled that the Labyrinth was pleased with her appreciation, wondering who that she knew could have carved such a masterpiece. Sarah knew, however, that the Labyrinth would not listen to her other thoughts, just those that she wished she had a definite answer to. She continued to gaze at the door, running her fingers over the carvings of the Fae.

Slightly further up than the Fae was a swirl of crystals. Sarah looked up to see a perfect replica of the man she became curious about on her last visit: Jareth. His eyes were closed, his hand balancing a single crystal near his mouth on his fingertips.

Sarah stared at the door, more specifically at the carving of the Goblin King himself, for what seemed like hours. She suddenly remembered her place, remembered that _He _had tried to take Toby. She huffed in frustration and pushed on the door. The door swung open to reveal the familiar walls of the Labyrinth; the sparkling, glittery but cold walls that ran through the Labyrinth. Or as much as Sarah had seen of the Labyrinth…

**A/N: I know I used a lyric from Lady GaGa as the chapter title. I love GaGa and found this song perfect for Sarah; despite the song being about sex, but interpreted differently and it can mean anything lol.**

**Sorry for it being very short. I've already started writing chapter six; it just depends on whether I have the creative energy to finish it. Also, very sorry for the lack of Jareth. He may not be in it for a couple of chapters, or he may just be inserted randomly depending on my mood.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review, favourite and put on story alert. It makes me smile at the amount of emails I get.**

***The difference between fairies and Faeries is that a fairy is more like a pixie. Rubbish explanation, but I didn't want any confusion later on in the story. **


	6. If Only You Knew

_If only you knew I'm hanging by a thread, the web I spin for you. If only you knew I'd sacrifice my beating heart before I lose you. I still hold onto the letters you returned. I swear I've lived and learned.  
- Shinedown {If Only You Knew}_

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Jareth had decided to spend his time in one of the castle's private and hidden gardens. He chose the Otherworld garden, not particularly his favourite, but possibly the most peaceful due to the lack of birds and interfering goblins. It was full of blossom trees; various flowers ranging from different shades of pinks and reds, contrasting with various white flowers, such as lilies, chrysanthemums, orchids and other trees and flowers chosen from other kingdoms and the Aboveground. He sat against a cherry blossom tree, crystal in hand, staring at the image of Sarah in its depths. If only he could touch her.

She was wandering through the outer edge of the Labyrinth, which was where the stone walls began; she was quite far from the hedge maze that it encased, which was very far from the castle. Jareth sighed. He was longing to see her again. Of course, he would never let on that he was to her face, or even to the more common goblins. But anyone who spent most of their time with Jareth or knew Jareth the most could tell that he loved Sarah, he adored her. If only she would love him back.

But he knew he couldn't confess his heart and soul for her like he did in the Escher room. She'd get scared or angry, or even both. She'd most definitely run away again and completely cut him out of her life. He couldn't stand for that; he couldn't live if that happened again. He needed her. He don't know how he fell for her, he just did. Her determination, stubbornness and her will was everything he loved about her. She was strong and independent; she knew what she wanted in life. She didn't care about titles, power and money like many other Fae women he had met, who wished to marry him because of royalty. She had her own power and that made her a power in his eyes.

_Sarah…_

**A/N: According to one of my mates, I'm really fast with my updates. But, that's only because they're incredibly short chapters (including this extremely short one, sorry for that! I will attempt to rectify that at once!), and the amount of emails about story alerts and reviews really makes me smile and inspires me to write more. **

**Thank you for taking the time to read, review and put it on alert; I wrote this for you. **


	7. Near The Centre Of The Labyrinth

Sarah had been walking for what had seemed like hours. She saw the same grey walls that just went on and on. She had remembered what a little blue worm had said on her first visit:

"_Things are not always what they seem in this place, so you can't take anything for granted."_

Sarah sighed and decided to find an opening, so she stopped and turned towards one of the walls. She strode straight to the wall and crashed into it.

"Ouch! Jesus." She exclaimed. She brushed herself off and frowned at the wall.

"What's the point in trying to find an opening when they randomly turn up? Next time I'm feeling for an opening before I crash into another wall." She muttered.

She continued on her journey through the Labyrinth, feeling the walls for some sign of an opening, alas she couldn't find one.

_If anybody comes across me now, they'll think I've gone crazy. _

Still, she carried on this way, walking further and further down the stone walls, still going in a straight line.

"What're yeh doin'?" cried a little voice.

Sarah looked around wildly; she couldn't see anyone or anything in sight.

"Up 'ere!" screeched the little voice.

Sarah looked up and saw, sat on the top of the Labyrinth, a tiny goblin (although goblins are generally small, this one looked no more than a baby) holding a little staff. She smiled at the goblin.

"I'm trying to get through the Labyrinth, but there aren't any turns or openings or anything!"

The goblin frowned at Sarah. He didn't want to leave his post, but he wanted to help the girl. So he stayed on top of the wall and looked down at her.

"I'm 'fraid ter Labyrinth's goin' through some construction at ter moment, so ter openin's 'ave been blocked off. Say, we weren't told that 'ere were any runners today. What'cha doin' 'ere? Ter King's not 'avin' runners through."

"I'm afraid I don't know what I'm doing here. What do you mean by runners?" Sarah quizzed the goblin.

The goblin frowned yet again; he was specifically told that no humans could run through the Labyrinth today. He scratched his head and sighed.

"Runners, ones that are set ter challenge ter get through Labyrinth!" he cried exasperatedly. "I s'pose I could tell yeh how ter get out an' go 'ome."

"No!" she exclaimed. The little goblin was startled by her abrupt reply and had to steady himself before he fell off the wall. "I mean, I think I was brought here for a reason. You see I didn't mean to say, but…" She faltered; she didn't know what she was going to say. Of course she did wish to be in the Labyrinth, but she didn't mean it, it was like someone was making her say it. She would find her friends, they would help to find out why she was here, and then she would go home.

"Do yeh want to go ter castle? I'm sure ter King'd know what's goin' on."

"Oh." She didn't want to go to the castle; she couldn't face _Him _straight away. "Ermm, I'd rather not. I want to see if I can find my friends."

"Yeh've been 'ere before?"

"Yes, well I think so anyway. You see, I thought it was a dream, I still think it's a dream. But, then the-"

"Did yeh win ter kid back?" The goblin asked almost angrily. Or was it just confusion?

"Yes, yes I did. My baby brother, T-"

"Ah, well, wasn't a dream. None of it is. It's real. Still don't know why yeh're 'ere though… So yeh're one of ter lucky ones that won ter kids back? Hold on, did yeh say yeh made friends?" The goblin certainly looked puzzled at this point.

"Why, yes. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus, do you know them?" Sarah replied, her eyes wide. So both the Labyrinth and this little goblin said that it wasn't a dream. She was starting to believe her journey through the Labyrinth was real, that she wasn't crazy.

The little goblin's eyes widened with shock, then, he burst out laughing.

"Those crackpots? Ne'er loyal ter King. Totally bonkers ter lot of 'em!" The little goblin was laughing so much, he was struggling to hold on to the wall. Suddenly, he stopped laughing, his face contorted with horror.

"Hold on a minute. Are yeh Sarah?"

"Don't you dare call my friends crackpots. I'll have you know they are loyal. Not loyal to cruel and twisted kings, but they're loyal to me! How did you know my name?"

The goblin stood up on the wall, he hopped down so that he was facing Sarah and looked up at her curiously. He had big brown eyes and a long, pointy nose. The next thing he did shocked Sarah. He put his right hand above his waist and the left behind his back, then, he bowed - his long nose touching the floor. For what seemed like minutes to Sarah was only actually seconds, the goblin rose and looked at Sarah and beamed.

She looked at the little goblin with a confused look. But as soon as she opened her mouth to say something, the little goblin dashed off and disappeared.

_That was weird. Hoggle, Ludo and Didymus, crackpots? More like he's the crackpot…_

Sarah huffed and decided to go in the same direction that the goblin went. As she moved forwards, the Labyrinth bent around.

_Thank God! A corner! I may just be able to find my way through the Labyrinth now._

To her surprise, she found herself in what seemed to be a goblin town, but this wasn't the same goblin city she had encountered on her first trip to the Labyrinth. There were lots of female goblins holding baskets, looking through windows and walking into, what seemed like, little shops. She stared in amazement.

"Excuse me, what is this place?"

A plump, middle-aged goblin stopped walking and her focused her attention to Sarah. She came up to Sarah's waist, her big lime green eyes kindly regarded Sarah, telling her she was listening and ready to reply:

"It's the goblin city, child." She said smiling.

"Really? It looks very different from the last time I was here…"

"Oh, this is the shopping district. The part of the city which leads directly up to the castle is full of soldiers, knights, the guard and their families. This is where we all do out shopping. Are you a runner dear?"

"Oh, no." Sarah looked around in wonder. This quaint little part of the goblin city was lovely, with little shops, hanging flower boxes and the goblin citizens of the Labyrinth.

"Did you say you've been here before?"

"Uhmm, yes. Years ago. I was rescuing my baby brother, Toby."

"Well, why are you here? Most runners lose their memories of the Labyrinth, but not the lessons they've learnt. Oh where are my manners? My name's Nell." The goblin woman beamed at Sarah. "Did you win your brother back dear?"

"Yes, I did get him back. Oh, nice to meet you Nell, I'm Sarah."

Nell's mouth dropped in shock, and she gasped.

"Oh, dear, what are _you _doing _here_?"

"I – I don't know…"

"Oh, my, I don't think the King will be happy to see you dear. Or he might. I'm not sure. But he will know why you're here."

"W – what?" Sarah stuttered. "What do you mean, he might be happy to see me?"

"Well, dear. Come and sit down over here."

Nell led Sarah over to a little goblin pub, they sat outside on the picnic tables, secluded from the rest of the goblins around.

"You see, I am the King's tailor. I am one of the goblins the King trusts, he keeps things close to his chest, you see, away from his regular subjects. After you left, things went weird, strange. The King shut himself off for a month. Nobody saw him at all, except those few goblins he chose to keep by his side, me for example. The Labyrinth's seasons ended up messed up, it turned to winter. We had terrible blizzards and storms all month. He was angry as well. I've never seen him so torn. It was like he had something bottled up and needed to lash out at anyone who was nosy enough to try and find out. I'd never seen him like that in the centuries I've served him. I've only ever seen him dark when he has a runner through the Labyrinth, when he has to become cruel to teach the runner a lesson about appreciating what they've got. Or when someone wishes a child away and chooses their dreams instead of attempting to rescue the child." The little goblin woman sighed.

"Anyway, the storms cleared, but it's always been autumn. It's been forty years of autumn, which in your time is…"

"Ten years." Sarah finished.

"Exactly, time is quicker here, but no-one ages much. It's the magic in the Underground. The King was calmer, but he was never the same. You see, I think it's because you did such a good job at winning your brother back, I mean, you destroyed parts of the Labyrinth that the worker goblins had to rebuild by hand. It was way beyond magical repair. You really made a mess of the Escher room." The woman chuckled.

"I never did much like that room. Of course, it looked different when you turned up. It changes to adapt to the runner. Yours, I assume, was taking a leap of faith."

"So he was mad that he had to rebuild parts of the Labyrinth?"

"Well, some of it. I think it was your words, dear. Words are a powerful thing, don't you forget that. There was something else. I don't know exactly, he doesn't tell everyone all his problems and secrets. But, personally, I think he has nightmares about the High Council taking the kingdom away from him. He loves his subjects, and they're all loyal to him. Even if the Council tried, there'd be a revolt, possibly a war. It's not just the goblins that love him; it's the other creatures he provided a home for. He's not just King of the Goblins, he's King of everyone encased in the Labyrinth."

* * *

Sarah and Nell talked for a while longer. But Sarah had a niggling feeling that Nell wasn't saying everything that she knew, she seemed to be hinting at something, but stopping herself before she said anything else to Sarah.

Sarah had told Nell about Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus, which prompted Nell to tell her where they were.

"They're in a little village not far from here. The name always escapes my mind… Begins with an R… Rusty… Rusty Drop that's it!"

Sarah giggled. "Rusty Drop? Are you being serious?"

Nell laughed. "Yes, all the little villages have silly names. I don't know why it's called that. But that's what it's called. There's a little pub there with the same name. A lot of the goblin villages have names shared with their local pub. Most goblins aren't smart when it comes to picking names for their villages, or their children for that matter. Well I recall that that fox, Sir Didymus as you and everyone he knows calls him, used to live near the Bog of Eternal Stench. Keen sense of nose my pet chicken's giblets! Well they all moved there after you're trip through the Labyrinth. Became real close friends, they did."

Sarah smiled and was eager to see them. "Could you please tell me how to get there?"

"I can do better than that Sarah. I'll take you there myself. I have to go through there to get back to the castle."

**A/N: Thanks again for everything guys. Slightly longer chapter, but still short nonetheless, so sorry. There will be longer chapters next week, over Christmas, when I have free time. **

**Any quotes/characters belong to Jim Henson. Original characters, such as Nell, belong to me. Any lyrics used belong to the artists or authors as stated. **


	8. Of Brothers and Gardens

"Haven't you got a kingdom to run? Or are you letting your subjects run amok and getting up to their usual mischief?"

Jareth opened his eyes and grinned at the tall Fae.

"Thenus, and what have I done to have you so graciously swagger into one of my private gardens and insult my kingdom and its subjects?"

The Fae opened his mouth in mock horror. "Dear brother, I thought you'd have been ever so pleased to see me?"

Jareth smirked at him. They weren't really similar looking. Where Jareth had blonde unruly hair, Thenus had long, raven hair that smoothed down his back. Where Jareth had icy blue eyes (with his left eye that had a dilated pupil) that spoke of mischief and defiance, Thenus had midnight blue eyes that spoke of responsibility.

"How's Tirion? Or is that a stupid question?"

Thenus rolled his eyes. "Good, as usual, we've been having a problem with the Selkies again. But other than that, the land has never been better."

"Coming from a King who mainly rules over water and has so little land." Jareth retorted.

"At least _my _subjects don't cause trouble all the time."

"Because _my _subjects can at least accompany me to Cethala without wanting to dive into the palace's fish tanks and the, dare I say, _private _gardens and their ponds and fountains." Jareth sneered.

"Yes, but _my _subjects don't throw food at each other at one of the Royal meetings."

Jareth paused at this, he knew his brother was right, but he couldn't help it if he was put in charge of the goblin kingdom. Anyway, it's not like the goblins were told not to throw food, it was the opposite actually. Jareth had gotten bored of official talks and wanted to… liven up the place.

"So what are you _actually _doing here?" Jareth replied, almost bored.

Thenus grinned at his victory. "Well brother, I was coming to see you anyway-"

Jareth snorted. "Yeah, more like-"

"And I was told about a certain Royal _engagement_ that we will have to attend. _I _was merely coming over here to warn _you _about this matter." Thenus interrupted with a glint in his eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jareth frowned. "No-one's getting married."

"Oh, but brother, _that _is where you're mistaken." Smiled Thenus.

"Well, then, spit it out!"

"Our dear Belleanna." Thenus paused waiting for Jareth's reaction. Belleanna was the only sister in his family, and she was the youngest. Despite being the middle child in a family of six children, Jareth had taken the role of big brother seriously when it came to Belleanna.

Jareth's eyes opened wide. "Who the-"

Thenus cut in, he didn't want Jareth to get angry, especially not at a happy occasion. "Rifur, of course, who else?"

Jareth scowled. It was not like he didn't like Rifur, hell he was the only guy that he had sort of liked that Belleanna had brought home, but it was that she was his younger sister and he didn't want her to get married yet. She was still only young. Well, she was quite a lot younger than Jareth, but he and his brothers had been born within a scale of time. Belleanna was over a thousand years younger than Jareth, she was only four hundred.

"So, what, are they getting married?"

"Well duhh! But this is the _engagement _party. No marriage for a while. She wants a long engagement." Thenus rolled his eyes at Jareth.

"When is it?" Jareth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"A few months. Thought I'd come and warn you. You do know mother's expecting us all to bring dates? Probably trying to marry us all off again… Especially you, Jareth, mother seemed particularly interested in _you _bringing a date. Is there something you're not telling me?" Thenus tilted his head, being mock serious.

"No. Unless you're deluding yourself and thinking I'd bring a troll of a Fae such as Rypena, now would you?" Jareth laughed. He was secretly hoping that, by the time of his sister's engagement party that Sarah would agree to live in the castle with him, and would accompany him. He knew she would never agree, but he couldn't stop hoping things, could he?

Thenus laughed. "True, dear brother, true. So now to move on to what I was going to ask you as soon as I came here. What _are _you doing in this garden? You don't have a book or any official scrolls to read over. But to be honest, you'd rather lock yourself up in your study to do that. You looked as though you were day dreaming. Pray tell, what _were _you dreaming about?"

With that, Jareth conjured a crystal and threw it at his brother, in which he disappeared as soon as it hit his chest. His disembodied voice laughed and said, "Well then that was rude. But I shall leave you be. Until next time, _Goblin King_."

Jareth sighed. As much as he loved and was close to his brother, he annoyed the hell out of him. They were forever playing tricks on each other as children, and still did to this day. Jareth leant his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. He inhaled the warm, sweet air in hopes of returning to his dreaming.

* * *

Thenus looked defeated. He had remembered that time several decades ago when his brother was so obviously heartbroken, but no-one would tell him why until he bribed his sister into telling him what she and his mother were talking about. A mortal girl, called Sarah. He sighed and hoped that his brother had returned to his old self, that maybe this Sarah wasn't his bonded.

He hoped that someday, the situation would sort itself out and Jareth would be truly happy again. It was an awful thing to be bonded but have no feelings reciprocated.

_Love, 'tis harsh and cruel like the burning, destructive fire. But can be as calm and as soothing as the moon, wonderful as the stars but as warm and loving as the autumn or spring sun. _

**A/N: Uni has finished for Xmas *victory dance*. I am now free to write, doss about, play on the PS3 and do some art. Huzzah!**

**Again, thank you for everyone who has reviewed; put on story alert and put it on favourite. **

**Apologies for a very short chapter, but I haven't updated in days due to Uni work. **

**I may have to edit over some things, as some chapters were written late at night when I had no clue how to make the story flow. That and I've forgotten how the story has gone :|**

**Also, I've recently read some Labyrinth fanfics and my story has had some similar plot lines, so I'm going to end up changing my future plot which will involve me taking longer in writing them. **

***I ended up throwing random letters around in the hopes of making names a while ago. Selkies are different to mermaids, as Selkies are seals that can imitate a human's body for a couple of hours before they have to change back. So, just to clear up, these are how you pronounce the names:**

**Thenus (Th-en-us)  
Tirion (Ti-rhi-on)  
Cethala (Keth-ahh-la)  
Belleanna (Bay-ah-nah)  
Rifus (Reef-her)  
Rypena (Ri-pea-ner)**


	9. Rusty Drop

Sarah and Nell had been walking for less than five minutes. They had come out of the shopping district and down some stone streets that contained, what seemed like, terraced houses. They had kept on walking, with the houses becoming more infrequent but larger. Eventually, they started to walk into some woods. The path was fairly straight, with no confusing twists and turns until they came to a large clearing. It was at this clearing that Sarah gasped.

"We're here."

It was Rusty Drop, and it was indeed, as Nell said it was, quite small. It was full of several large houses and cottages, with their own perfect little front gardens. The houses were Tudor style and perfectly maintained, which greatly contrasted with the shack like ones in the main part of the Goblin city that protected the castle. The pub that Nell had mentioned was situated in the far right corner of the little village, next to a Tailor's and a florist's. Sarah giggled.

"What is it?"

"Well, I never expected to see a tailor's and a _florist's _seeing as though the Goblin city has a shopping district." She smiled, wiping away a tear. "But the village as a whole is _beautiful_."

"Ah, well, not every goblin can be bothered to go to the shopping district to mend clothes, and why go to a florist's that is nowhere near wildlife when the nicest flowers are in your own backyard?"

"You've got a point. So, are there any goblins that live in this village? Do you live here?"

"There's one or two of the more _sensible _goblins," Nell chuckled, who'd ever thought of _sensible goblins_? "But on the whole, this is home to the creatures who get annoyed by the goblins."

"Hoggle being a definite one." Sarah replied.

Nell smiled, "Of course. He does like some goblins, but others just get his temper flaring. Then he ends up on Jareth's wrong side."

Sarah felt a little pain in her chest at the mention of _His _name. She had avoided saying his name for years, and here was a goblin who chucked around _His _name frequently.

"And that Hoggle is _always _getting on His Majesty's wrong side. I remember the time when he actually made him 'Prince of the Land of Stench' all those years ago." Chuckled Nell.

Sarah was astonished, "Jareth actually lived up to his promise?" As _His_ name escaped her mouth, her stomach bubbled and tightened, as though a giant invisible hand was clamping it harshly.

Nell laughed hysterically, tears beginning to escape her closed eyelids. She was able to control her laughter, wipe away her tears and coughed a few times before she said: "Of course he did! Jareth _never _goes back on his promises! Wait, it was after you left that he did that."

"But, I mean, he already punished Hoggle! Hoggle had just rescued me from the Fierys and next thing I knew, we were at the Bog of Eternal Stench."

"Oh, dear, are you sure that you didn't just step on a trap? They're everywhere after the Forest of Night, especially with all the hidden passages that lead straight to the castle. They're greatly needed around there. But after the Fierys moved in, they were a good enough distraction to send runners the wrong way and into the Bog. But then again, the goblins hate it when Jareth changes parts of the Labyrinth without telling them," Nell began to laugh again. She was a cheery little goblin. "They usually end up in the Bog without doing anything wrong and incurring punishment ha ha ha!"

Sarah smiled at the little goblin woman; she smiled at the mention of Hoggle's, her _friend's_, name and she laughed at the thought of goblins _accidentally _finding themselves at the Bog of Eternal Stench – even though she wouldn't wish anyone to that dreadful place.

"Nell, where exactly is everyone?" Sarah asked softly, curious to see her friends again.

Nell stopped laughing and paused. She frowned, looked around and thought for a while.

"Well, Hoggle would either be spraying the fairies or-"

"But Hoggle wasn't at the gates of the Labyrinth," Sarah interrupted sheepishly.

"Well then, he'll most likely be gardening then. Or he could be around the castle."

"What about Sir Didymus and Ludo?" Sarah inquired.

"Ah, that's trickier. Didy will most likely be doing something for the King,"

"D-Didy?" Sarah beamed at Nell, like she was not hearing everything.

"Don't ever tell him I told you to call him that! None of the women around here say it to him to his face, or he ends up reciting his full title and what his job entails exactly." Nell looked exasperated.

"Okay, okay. So it's something you all call him as a nickname?"

"It shortens it for conversation. Having to call him 'sir' or 'knight' all the time, when he isn't even one!" Nell chuckled. "Well Didymus will most likely be in the goblin city or in the castle. As for Ludo, he might be re-building somewhere, anywhere."

"After a runner has been through?"

"Yes, exactly. Most goblins are as thick as mud; even their pet chickens are smarter than them. But you see goblins are fantastic at building and metal work, so after a runner has been through the Labyrinth, some goblins are sent off to re-build parts of it. Your friend Ludo is a stone-caller, as you must already know, so he helps move the larger rocks, boulders and bricks into place."

Sarah looked, well, defeated. After years of believing (or making herself believe) that her adventure was a dream she had the chance to be reunited with her friends and they weren't there to greet her. She didn't expect them to come rushing to her and forgive her, after all, she did cover her vanity mirror to keep them out of her room and her life and then she refused to believe in anything. After ten years, she wouldn't blame them if they hated her. Of course to them, it was longer than ten years. Would they even remember who she was?

* * *

**A/N: Gah, I have writer's block! -.-**

**Sorry for this chapter and actually, all my chapters. This is my first story and as I know where I'm going with it as a whole, it's just writing everything in between. **

**Inspiration has to strike soon! Or maybe I'll just not update it for a few months until I work everything out and then update it frequently after that. I have no idea :S**

**Anyways, thank you all for reading and – you know the drill by now :D**


	10. Friends?

Sarah and Nell had been sat on a bench near the village's pub. They talked for several hours waiting for someone, anyone to turn up. But no-one had passed through the little village.

"Where do you think everyone is?" Sarah asked quietly. She was afraid something had happened.

"I don't really know. Usually there is someone hanging around, it's only ever like this if there's a runner through. But the Labyrinth's been sealed for a couple of days. There's too much to re-build." Nell sighed.

"Why is there so much to re-build?"

"Well the last runner, stubborn little brat of a girl, took it upon herself to try and destroy everything she came across. She was strong, unusually strong for a young human girl. She'd get frustrated and start smashing things. In the end, Jareth had to intervene. He couldn't see his beloved Labyrinth in ruins. He made time go forward. Told her to take things seriously or she wouldn't see her sister again. Then he trapped her in an oubliette. He got really impatient. Usually, the ones who win their siblings or children back are determined and are meant to win them back. She was meant to win her sister back, of course, in which she did. But she didn't learn her lessons. Jareth pleaded with the Labyrinth for hours trying to get them to change the rules in this special case, but he got refused and was told, 'everything will work out in due course' which really, could mean anything."

Nell paused and looked around; she then sighed and looked dejected. Yet again, Sarah felt a twinge in her stomach at the mention of _His _name.

"Her sister was a delight. A wonderful little thing, but scared, terribly scared. She was, and I hate to use this word, _normal. _Where her sister was strong, stupid and muscular, she was a little dot with intelligent eyes. Jareth told me that he suspected foul play in the family."

"What do you mean?" said Sarah, a little puzzled at Nell's remark.

"Hmm, how to put this… In your world, people use substances to enhance themselves, am I correct? Jareth said her family was a family of builders of the body or something or other."

"You mean bodybuilders? You mean her family were feeding her _drugs_, steroids?" Sarah exclaimed looking horrified. What a thing to give to a child. No wonder she managed to destroy parts of the Labyrinth and had anger issues.

"If that's what you call it, then it might be."

* * *

Jareth had retired to his throne room. The goblins had been wondering where he had gone for so long. He took his usual position of one leg thrown over an arm of the throne, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back. He sighed and began to stare at the ceiling, and slowly, his eyes began to close.

"Your Highness!" squeaked a little voice.

Jareth opened his eyes, removed his hands from the back of his head and turned to the right. He looked around and then remembered to look down. There was a little female goblin with a cloth hat and black eyes.

"What is it Gomwin?" Jareth sighed.

"The Lady Sarah is at the goblin city!" she piped. "Should we show her the way to the castle?"

"What part of the goblin city is she in, the one surrounding the castle?"

"No sire, but she isn't far. She's in one of the little villages not too far from here. We could show her to the castle."

"No, Gomwin, she can find her own way here. What village is she in?"

"The one where the dwarf, the fox and the orange dinosaur live."

"How many times? He's a stone-caller not a dinosaur Gomwin… Wait, she's where Higgle lives?"

"Yes sire, _Hoggle_. But the dwarf isn't there, none of them are. They're all doing the re-build."

"So she's found her way to their village on her own?" scowled Jareth.

"No, sire, your personal tailor is with her." Smiled the little goblin, bearing a mouth full of missing teeth.

Jareth smirked. "Thank you Gomwin, that will be all. Here, have a chicken." With that he conjured a crystal, threw it into the air and in mid-air it turned into a little black chicken that squawked, flapped its wings and landed into little Gomwin's arms.

The little goblin gasped and smiled excitedly. "Thank you, your Majesty." She bowed and scarpered out of the throne room.

Jareth closed his eyes, his smile warming the tips of his toes and fingers. His heart expanded and glowed with the warmth from the smile.

_Thank you Nell. Thank you for keeping her safe, for finding her and leading her to her friends._

**A/N: I felt generous with uploading another chapter. Sorry it's so short. Although this may be the last for a while, still not sure yet. **

**My knowledge of drugs is basic, so I may have made stuff up, if it seems correct then yay me. Really, I should have researched things beforehand, but I didn't even know I was going to include this runner until I started writing this chapter. **

**The Jareth in the back of my mind was shouting: "RELEASE MEEEEEEE!" So I did *insert big cheesy grin***

**Also, in the future I will plan properly! Instead of planning for more of the end of the story…**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	11. Pebbles

With the day lasting longer in the Underground, Sarah had been in the Labyrinth for hours, it was soon approaching dusk and she and Nell were still sat on that same bench. They'd been talking for hours, a little on what had happened after Sarah's first adventure to the Labyrinth which was cut short after Nell saw the sad look that crept on Sarah's face at any mention of Jareth. In the last half an hour, the conversation had turned on to food.

"So goblins will eat _anything_?" Sarah gasped.

"Practically anything, except sugar, makes them overactive, especially the dumb ones. I usually put it in my tea to perk me up when I'm working late. But there is a divide. Lots of goblins thrive on eating junk – nuts, bolts, petrol, oil and the. Others, such as myself, prefer food to what the Fae eat."

"And what do Fae eat?" queried Sarah. She was fascinated at learning about all the different creatures in the Labyrinth; she was starting to fall in love with the place all over again.

"Hmm," Nell sat in thought. "Well, human food. I presume it is human food anyway."

"Really? So, like, fruits and vegetables and meats? I would have always thought that Fae would either eat nothing or something like mushrooms and leaves."

At this Nell cried out in laughter, "No, no, no, no! You're confusing that with elves and pixies, Sarah! Of course Fae have to eat! They can last a while without food, but once they develop a liking for it, they love to eat! But Fae are really magical humans, hence why they resemble them so."

"Oh." Sarah felt her cheeks redden.

"It's alright! Heck, you're from the Aboveground, how were you to know?" Nell waved her off.

A crunching noise through the side of the woods caught both of the women's attention. There were some scuffling and an irate voice could be heard.

"An' you Ludo, you great lump! Droppin' rocks on my head! I ain't a bridge now, am I?"

"Hoggle!" breathed Sarah.

"Fear not, Sir Hoggle! We shall move forth and shall find a sweet maiden to bandage that head of yours. Won't we brother?"

"Sir Didymus!" whispered Sarah.

"Ludo sowwy."

"Yeah, yeah, you useless git. You're lucky I ain't lost my head!"

"Ludo!" murmured Sarah.

The voices become louder and clearer, and then coming from the woods was Hoggle, leading the way.

"HOGGLE!" cried Sarah.

Hoggle froze. He looked around wildly and then he saw her. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes and gaped at the girl. She was running towards him, her arms outstretched.

"Sarah?"

At that moment, Sir Didymus riding on top of Ambrosius appeared.

"Sir Hoggle, why dost thou say Lady Sarah's name? If my brother and I didn't know better-" he cut off as he saw Sarah. His mouth dropped open. "Fair maiden, is it really you?"

Sarah had reached them and had swooped upon Hoggle.

"Oh Hoggle, I'm so sorry, I truly am! I forgot! I… I… I thought it was a dream." She sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't kiss me!" cried Hoggle.

She let go of Hoggle and hugged Sir Didymus. "Sir Didymus, I am so sorry!"

She let go of him and straightened up; her eyes puffy from crying, her face red and wet with sadness and shame.

"Fair Sarah, whatever for? You have returned! We must celebrate at once!"

Sarah choked a little on her tears and hiccupped, she was so happy to see them again.

"Sarah, what _are _you doing back? After we didn't hear from you, we thought you lost your memory or somethin'" Hoggle mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"I didn't know what to believe! I thought it was a dream and that I was just growing up!" she sobbed.

"Why, Lady Sarah, it was never a dream. And my, growing up is what you did! You're a woman now!" cried Sir Didymus who got off his steed and began to bow. "My Lady." He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it.

Sarah chuckled, fighting her tears. "Oh, but where's Ludo? I thought I heard him with you…"

Hoggle scowled and turned around. "The great lump was behind us a few minutes ago. Probably gone talking to the rocks… _again_." He muttered.

But as he said that, a flash of orange through the leaves caught Sarah's eyes and Ludo shuffled into the clearing.

"LUDO!" screamed Sarah.

Ludo looked around slowly, and then he saw her, a big goofy grin stretched across his face.

"SAWAH BACK!" he boomed, his eyes crinkling with excitement.

Sarah ran over to Ludo and with one sweep of his gigantic arms, he picked her up and hugged her. For Sarah, the comforting warmth of Ludo was calming her anxiety. Maybe they were never angry with her after all. She felt so stupid thinking that they were never real, that they never cared, but she was here with them now.

"Sarah, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing _back_?" Hoggle asked almost sadly. He knew that if she was back in the Labyrinth, then there was a reason and as soon as she would fulfil that, she would go back to the Aboveground and forget them, again.

Sarah stopped for a moment. She knew what she had said, but she didn't know how she got back here.

"Hoggle, I… I don't really know. I wished that I was back in the Labyrinth, but that wouldn't happen would it? Not normally?" Sarah said softly.

"That could only happen with very powerful magic, or with the assistance of a Fae. You can only come to the Labyrinth if you really need help, need to learn a lesson or wish away a child."

Sarah looked forlorn. How was it possible that she was back in the Labyrinth?

"At least you're back fair maiden." Sir Didymus proclaimed with a low bow. Sarah resisted the urge to start crying again, she smiled and fought the tears.

* * *

After the 'grand tour' of Rusty Drop, Sarah was shown around Sir Didymus and Ludo's house. It was so lovely. There was a grand oak door (big enough for Ludo to get inside) with carvings of words in a language Sarah had never seen before, she gazed at the door even when she was shown inside.

"Sir Didymus? What are these words carved around the door? I have never seen anything like them."

"Ah, my dear Lady, my brother has the answer to that!" he grinned.

"Rocks friends, rocks shield Ludo and brother," Ludo rumbled.

"What _he _means is that it's part of the stone-caller's language. It's a protection spell. You great lump!" Hoggle cried.

With that a tiny pebble dropped off the mantelpiece and onto Hoggle's head.

"OW!" roared Hoggle. "See what I mean?" He rubbed his head, scowling at Ludo, who was looking around, avoiding his gaze. He was secretly happy at what the little pebble accomplished. It took him all he could from grinning like a small child. Sir Didymus nearly began to chuckle, but the vicious look on Hoggle's face was enough to put a stop to that.

Sarah and Nell on the other hand, burst out laughing. Hoggle's face was priceless! Hoggle frowned disgruntledly. Then Sir Didymus began to snigger, which resulted in Ludo howling. Hoggle began to mutter at them all with words such as 'childish' and 'stupid' escaping his mouth.

Sarah stopped laughing to take around her surroundings. She realised how comfy and _homey _the place looked. There were brown squashy armchairs surrounding a big fire with a pile of wood stacked at the side. There was a large wooden unit with a few books, ornaments and wood carvings. A little dining area was not far from the armchairs and another room was adjoined in which Sarah supposed was the kitchen. She broke away from the group to go exploring, as she suspected, the room was the kitchen. She walked in and it was the loveliest kitchen she had seen. It had stone floors, wooden units and cupboards, a black stove and a big, white sink. There was a door wide open revealing a little pantry stocked with food.

She moved towards a door near the sink and opened it; it led to a gorgeous garden with trees, flowers and various shrubs dotted around the place. She gasped.

"Ah, fair Lady! I see you have found the garden that Sir Hoggle has created!" cried Sir Didymus, appearing next to her.

"_Hoggle_? Hoggle did _this_?"

"Well who did you expect?" grunted Hoggle, who was now stood next to Sir Didymus.

"Sir Hoggle is skilled at many a craft. Dost thou see the carvings in yonder living room?"

"Hoggle, you made them?" Sarah exclaimed in awe.

"You talk as though I do nothin' 'cept spray fairies!"

Sarah blushed. She hadn't realised that Hoggle might do more in the Labyrinth than just spray fairies. He didn't have any obvious talents from their first meeting, except from being a coward – especially when it came to Jareth.

"Oh Hoggle, it's beautiful!"

"You ain't seen nothin'! There's my garden-"

"Then there are the gardens at the castle! Oh my dear, you should see them! They're absolutely _wonderful_!" cried Nell.

Hoggle muttered and mumbled. "That's what I was gonna say! Anyway, if you think this is nice, you should see mine!"

**A/N: Now isn't that generous?**

***insert nerdy smile***

**Yeah I have writer's block building it up to Sarah meeting her friends and then Jareth; it's causing me so much trouble. *scowls and shakes fist at laptop screen* So sorry for the abrupt end… Please don't kill me. I'll begin writing chapter 12 asap. Well, after I've had some sleep…**

**Thanks for reading. But everyone's stopped reviewing! :O Ah well, it's easier on me 'cos I never know what to say to you wonderful people. **


	12. It's Personal

Jareth paced his throne room. He was excited that Sarah was here, back in the Underground; back in the Labyrinth. She was close… But not close enough to touch. If only she would come to the castle. If only she would silently walk over and hug him, if only she would let him hold her…

But no, she was in that little goblin village, he couldn't just go over there, take control by reaching out and embracing her. She had to come to him by her own free will. But would she? Their last meeting ended horribly. What she thought was a stalling tactic was not, he was offering her _everything_. Everything she wanted, her dreams and his love. But did she want _his _love? No, why would she? She turned everything down, she turned him down: his soul, his love, his heart…

But even if she did come to see him, he couldn't just grab hold of her and kiss her. He had to act like himself, the goblin King; he had to act like he didn't care. He had to… But he _did _care. Heck, he loved her. But she would not, could not ever love him back. He took her baby brother, set the cleaners on her, gave her that damn peach, attempted to seduce her. But he did it all for _her_. It's what _she_ wanted.

Jareth was lost; completely and utterly lost. He couldn't face more rejection from her. She broke his heart once and he wasn't sure he'd be able to carry on living if she did it again. He couldn't live without her.

_Live without the sunlight.  
Love without your heartbeat.  
I… I can't live… within you…_

But even if she did come to the castle, she wouldn't be happy to see him. It would be the opposite. He sighed. He had to act cold towards her, as he would if a runner was in the Labyrinth, where all his power surrounded and took over him. He had to keep his cool. If he ran to her and confessed his undying love, she would not be impressed. She'd scoff and reject him.

But then, shouldn't he be angry at her? She who dared to wish her brother away, beg for him to be returned, called his Labyrinth a 'piece of cake', destroyed parts of the Labyrinth, befriended some of _his _subjects and had the audacity to ignore him, reject him, return home and deliberately forget.

"AHHHHHHH!" he roared, kicking a passing goblin which was now flying out of one of the throne room windows.

He was perplexed. He didn't know what to do, what to think, what to believe and ultimately, what to feel. His head was a mess. It was complicated enough being a Fae and a King (a King who ruled over troublesome little creatures) but it made it even more so when one minute he was sure he was in love, and the next he was angry.

He had become infatuated watching Sarah as a teenager. How she blamed herself for her parents arguing, her mother running off with a lover, her parents getting a divorce, her mother not getting back into contact and then who was always seen as an unsightly smudge in her step-mother's life. He pitied her, but was fascinated with her captivatingly beautiful looks and intelligent personality. He knew the day would come when she needed him, when she would have to run the Labyrinth, when those lessons she learnt in the Labyrinth could be applied to her home life and taught her how to deal with everything. He knew this, but he didn't expect it to become anything more. He was at a loss as to how he truly felt. Only her coming to the castle, to talk to her, to see her would tell him all he needed to know about how he felt about her.

But he was just confusing himself. He felt a sinking feeling in his chest, never in all of his life had he felt like this. He had been pretty certain about a lot of things through his life. But this… this was… it made him want to scream, kick some more goblins and be destructive.

It would do no good; nothing could or would make him feel better. Jareth would just have to ride out this personal storm and live with whatever happens… whenever that would happen…

**A/N: Another chapter, wow! I churned it out quick. But again, frequent updates = short chapters. I wanted to put my own spiel on what love is like. I've gone through the whole in love, didn't work out, got forgotten about but still kind of love them but at the same time want to hate them, take revenge and destroy something. I may come back to this chapter at a later date when I can write it better, I just wanted to include the confusion and mass of emotions, so it came as a sort of stream of consciousness. **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE YOU! THIS IS MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU, ALBEIT A TINY CHAPTER, BUT EVERYONE WANTS A BIT OF JARETH ON CHRISTMAS DAY ;D I KNOW I WOULD **_**LOVE **_**TO FIND HIM WRAPPED UP UNDER MY TREE WITH A BOW ON HIS HEAD :3**

**Thanks for reading, reviews etc :)**

**DISCLAIMER: David Bowie owns the song. He wrote and composed it. I wish it was mine though haha…**


	13. Gardens, Carvings and Parties

After leaving the house, Nell had bid her goodbyes and hurried off to the castle. She suspected that Jareth would be going spare without her. How wrong she was. Jareth was caught up in his own little world in the throne room. He quickly composed himself, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nell slide into the room. He laughed and said, "Nell, are you okay?"

"Yes your Majesty. Sorry I've been gone so long; the queues in the shopping district were _horrendous_!" She exclaimed out of breath.

Jareth laughed once again, he knew she was lying and he knew the reason why. He knew she had been helping Sarah, and he was grateful. Instead he suggested she go have a rest before she have some food. Nell was appreciative at the gesture, but assured him that she was needed around the castle. He began to chuckle and waved her off.

_Something is _not _right here. I've never seen him laugh so much in the space of a few seconds. _Nell thought.

She immediately canned the idea down to thinking he had found the stash of peach wine again, and indulged himself before tea time. She smiled smugly at the idea and decided to busy herself with cleaning out the corridors of goblins that had fallen asleep.

Her thoughts soon turned on Sarah, she had hoped that she would have come to the castle at once and stayed there. She wished she could have shown her the gardens. She really liked Sarah, in the short amount of time that she knew her, she felt that she could trust Sarah and felt like she would become one of her closest friends. She hadn't known her the last time she was here, but she did wish she would have run into her. It would have been nice to get to know her sooner, but it was a bittersweet friendship. Sarah would have to return to the Aboveground sooner or later.

* * *

Sarah gasped with adoration. Hoggle was right, Didymus and Ludo's garden was _nothing _compared to his. Hoggle's was an explosion of colour, a rainbow paradise contained in this little village in the goblin city. The garden was full of huge trees, giant and small flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruit. The smell of honeysuckle and lavender swam through the air and she wildly looked around to find where it was coming from. She saw instantly that the honeysuckle was entwined over the door and the windows; the lavender in little boxes scattered around.

"There's all sorts of herbs, veg and fruit that'll cure anythin' in this garden." Hoggle smirked seeing the reaction on Sarah's face.

"Yes, my lady. Why Hoggle grows all sorts of plants to cure whatever ails someone. Goblins usually suffer with over indulging in alcohol and such, so they come to Hoggle for some milk thistle. He also grows vanilla pods for sleeplessness, insomnia and the like. He has his own private fruit, vegetable and herb gardens for food nestled behind that willow tree. Anything you can think of, Hoggle may have it here." Sir Didymus grinned.

"But, how is that possible?" Sarah asked. "I mean, all these various plants grow in different climates in the Aboveground."

"My lady, you are forgetting that you are in the Underground. Nothing-"

"Is what it seems." Interrupted and finished Sarah. She was sick of hearing the same thing; she had to remember those little lessons she learnt the last time she was here. The bigger lessons had stuck with her, like not taking anything for granted, but remembering that anything is possible always seemed to slip her mind. She thought too logically in the Underground.

"Why you're quite right my Lady," replied a beaming Sir Didymus. "Dost thou staying at the castle, fair maiden?"

Sarah looked confused, then she realised she would have to stay somewhere until she could get back home. The day lasted longer down here, but it would quickly turn to night. She hadn't thought of what she was going to do and after hearing Sir Didymus mention the castle, she shuddered and realised she didn't want to face _Him _anytime soon.

"Well, I… hadn't thought of that…"

"You can stay here," Hoggle replied quickly. He didn't want Jareth to intervene, heck he didn't want _him_ to know Sarah was here, but he thought that the goblin King would know either now or soon that Sarah was back.

"Oh, Hoggle! Thank you so much. If you're sure it wouldn't be any bother or trouble."

"It's no bother or trouble at all Sarah." Mumbled Hoggle, he started to blush. Sarah bent down and hugged him. "Don't kiss me!"

Sarah laughed, let go of him and stood up. She hadn't taken much notice of Hoggle's house; she was more interested in the garden. They all made their way inside the house, it was similar to Didymus and Ludo's house, but with more books and more wooden, stone and crystal carvings. She looked around in awe at the sight of the carvings. The wooden carvings were elaborate creations of flowers and twisted trees; the stone carvings were complex creations of Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus, other goblins and dwarves, what looked like gnomes, but the crystal carvings were so striking and magnificent. The crystal carvings were intricate and delicate and were depictions of –what Sarah assumed to be Fae – she saw one that caught her eye. It was slightly bigger than the others and glittered and was sparkled with shades of blue in the light; it was a figure of a Fae. A Fae with unruly hair, tight cloves and held a tiny spherical crystal in its hand. It was Jareth.

_But I thought Hoggle _hated _Jareth! _

"Oh wow," Sarah gasped. "Hoggle? I… I thought you hated Jareth?" At both the thought and the mention of _His _name from _her own _mouth, her stomach gave a jolt. She frowned and subconsciously scratched her arm.

"Oh, well, you see," Hoggle replied mumbling. "Jareth scares me an' all, but he is our _King_. And a good King he is too! I'm not old enough to remember the previous King, but I have heard horror stories."

"Horror stories?" Sarah laughed.

Hoggle scowled at her. "Yeah, he hated his position as King, a mean ruler he was too! I don't know much, and most of us can't talk about them, like I said, I can't remember much of his reign. That and it's Fae politics." He said mockingly with a disgruntled look on his face. "Forced most of the creatures here into slavery, but that was before the Labyrinth was built. O' course that's Jareth's own creation."

"The Labyrinth wasn't always here?"

"No, it was just an expanse of land with goblins and other creatures hiding around. When Jareth came into power, he built the Labyrinth, the city, the forests, the rivers, everything. He changes it from time to time, keeps the secret passages the same o' course so we all know where we're going. But if he does change it, he calls a huge meeting with maps he's drawn up and points everything out."

Sarah was intrigued at the thought of the Labyrinth being Jareth's own concept. She thought it was quite fair and, dare she say it, _nice _of Jareth to forewarn the goblins if changes had been made to the Labyrinth. She wondered why a man would construct such a complex object. She dismissed the thought as being used as a collective task for the Runners who had to win children back, to learn their own lessons. But as she dismissed the thought, her attention was turned to something else near the crystal imitation of Jareth. It glistened and gleamed in the light, it was pure white in contrast to the one of Jareth. It was the embodiment of movement in such a passive figure, an arm was lifted into the air, the other hung gracefully at the other side. The skirt of the figure was long and billowing and swished as though being blown in the wind or as if the character was dancing. The hair was long and curled elegantly into a cascading waterfall of hair, with little rosebuds and flowers dotted around the curls. But the features, the features were incredibly familiar. Sarah gasped. The figurine was of _her. _She wanted so desperately to reach out and touch the figurine's smooth cheek, but hesitated in fear of breaking the fragile thing.

"Oh, _Hoggle_," She gasped. "It's… it's… _beautiful_."

She felt tears creep up, and became momentarily blinded by them, until they escaped her eyes and they slid graciously down her cheeks, sparkling with the wonderment she felt. Her heart warmed at the thought, she began to blush ever so slightly and started to choke on her own tears and the words of gratitude she wanted to say that had built up in her throat.

"It was nothin'" Hoggle mumbled, his head looking at the floor, shuffling his feet into the floor and slowly turning red.

She smiled brilliantly at Hoggle and felt like she was truly home. Here were people she generally knew cared for her, and she cared for them. She knew they were true friends. She kind of hoped that she would never have to go home, just to stay here with all of her friends.

But then, she suddenly felt sad. She couldn't ever stay here forever. Her life was Aboveground with Toby and her father. And although she didn't want to admit it, it was with Karen as well, as vicious as she could be from time to time. She rejected the idea, for now, and decided to focus on the present. As she was caught up with her own thoughts, Sir Didymus had marched off muttering about a celebration, a feast and a party; Ludo had obediently followed which a grumbling Hoggle decided to trudge after. Sarah was left on her own, but she didn't feel alone or lonely, she felt loved, she felt her friends' presence in the village and her heart warmed once again.

* * *

Sarah was overwhelmed at what she saw. There were several, large, round wooden tables in the middle of the square of the village mounted with mouth-watering food and drink. Her stomach growled and grumbled and she remembered that she hadn't eaten anything all day. She was delighted at the effort her friends had made, and she felt completely blessed that she was lucky enough to have met these creatures, despite the unfortunate chain of events that had led her to meet them. She gushed as she saw Hoggle sprinkling something on the ground, even though he was muttering under his breath. But to her surprise, large green shoots shot from the ground and blossomed into large purple flowers in front of her eyes.

"My Lady, art thou in need of anything?" came a voice behind Sarah. She spun around and saw Sir Didymus wearing… _a party hat_? She had to stifle a giggle.

"Oh, no, Sir Didymus," she began smirking. "I just came out here to see if anyone needed any help. But it looks like everything is sorted."

"If thou'st bored, my brother is over in that little cottage there, amusing the several goblin children that live there," he beamed.

"Thank you. Sir Didymus, may I ask you something?"

"Why of course, anything for you my Lady," he bowed.

"What exactly is Hoggle doing? Those can't be flowers; flowers take time to grow…"

"Ah, those, my dear, are a special species of flower. See how they bloom? 'Tis a magical species, specifically for parties."

Now Sarah was puzzled. Didymus saw the look of confusion on her face and grinned at her.

"Uhm…"

"Fear not! They do no harm. They are simply decorations, not actual plants, they disappear at midnight!"

Now it seemed that getting used to the Underground was going to take time, she had to adjust and couldn't be astonished by (what seemed usual, trivial things to everyone else) entities that thrived in the Underground. But she didn't have _time_. Unless she was stuck down here for good.

**A/N: Happy New Year guys :) **

**Wow, it's taken me ages to update. I need some inspiration.**

**I feel so awkward when writing dialogue. Does anybody else feel that way? It may just be that I'm used to describing things and I'm not a writer, more a painter and such. **

**Anybody spot the Edward Scissorhands reference? ;) Congrats to those who did :)**

**Irene is the actual name for Sarah's stepmother, but I've always called her Karen and so many stories on here have called her Karen, so changing it to Irene doesn't feel right to me. **

**Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. It's nice to know people have taken the time to read this (at the moment) small story. I am hoping and praying that it works out the way I want it, which will involve several sequels (emphasis on **_**hopefully**_**!)**


	14. Music In The Castle

All of the goblins had noticed that Jareth was surprisingly upbeat. He smiled as he passed and even said 'please' and 'thank you' to the goblins who usually ticked him off. He'd hum various songs they hadn't heard before, so they assumed he was working on some new material. He hadn't done in that in years. Usual dance type tunes songs were created when Jareth was very happy with the goblins and their work, or decided to throw them a party. But whenever he was feeling truly musical, he would disappear within the castle or to the gardens. The goblins didn't know why, of course. It was Jareth's secret. One of his personal joys was music, but he never told anybody where he played. Goblins attempted to follow, curious beings they are and always up to mischief, but they either couldn't keep up with him or he just disappeared and were left puzzled as to where he had gone. Of course, several centuries of trying to find out where Jareth was going and what he was doing eventually bored them senseless.

It certainly was a bizarre sight to the goblins. He wasn't cruel or unfair; he just… had a temper. The rumour was that Jareth wasn't supposed to be goblin King, he'd been sent there as a punishment, and he hated his position. The goblins daren't ask Jareth this for fear of being dumped in the Bog of Eternal Stench or getting dropped into an oubliette. So they kept quiet and went about their business. Of course, the wind whispered away the goblins' thoughts and they didn't go unnoticed. Jareth was a little, well, disheartened to find that his subjects felt that they couldn't ask him anything or feared him too much. Maybe he'd gone a little overboard with attempting to gain respect. Now, he was feared throughout the city and the Labyrinth.

But, that was in the past. He was lighter with punishments and never carried out his threats… much. He would gather the goblins and inform them on certain matters, those which included changes and things that needed to be re-built within the castle, the city and the Labyrinth as a whole.

But, back to the point, this sudden buoyant Jareth seemed to have created an amazing atmosphere within the castle, like a disease infecting everyone who came in contact with it. Soon, it would spread to the city and to the other creatures who resided within the kingdom. But for now, it was contained within the castle, Jareth's silky voice belting out tunes to music created from his magic. The castle was alive with music.

Nell found this highly amusing. She ended up peering round rooms that she suspected Jareth would be jumping around so that she could entertain herself with his antics. She was overjoyed with how Jareth was acting. He was acting like a young goblin King, like when he first became King. Before he knew of the true hardships of emotions… of love… She smiled to herself at his enthusiasm.

The goblins had their King back.

**A/N: Jareth does seem like he would be musical or artistic, wouldn't he? **

**Apologies for lateness; I usually update twice a week. Uni's pushing hard on me, I've just not been up to writing at all and my birthday's recently just gone and I hate it – don't ask me why I just hate my birthday haha. Also, laziness on my part – sorry. Thank you to those of who have stayed and kept on reading. Not sure when I'll be back, but I'll be online a lot, just not writing. **


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